Stranded

2

A blinding white light. He felt like he was dropping into a void of nonexistence, there was pain but everything else felt warm. He can't see anything and his body felt weak. Then, there was an echo piercing through the deafening silence of nothingness.

Slowly, and although muffled, the voice became louder and louder, and the pain got difficult to bear. Shadows started to block his vision and he was aggressively shaken until he felt the pressure in his chest. He gasps.

"Taehyung! Taehyung!" the familiar voice calls at the top of their lungs.

Seokjin appeared above him filtering through the light that was blinding him. He spatters and chokes, water came painfully out of his mouth his lungs sting, and Seokjin brings him tightly to his chest. His head, his throat, and his whole body hurt.

"Oh, god. Taehyung. Taehyung. Thank you. Thank you," Seokjin starts to sob.

He was so confused. His vision starts to grow clearer but his ears were still plugged. He was laying by the beach, wrapped in Seokjin's arms who sat beside him on his knees. Water lapped onto his legs and he sees the ocean. He remembers now.

He wanted to cry, he tried to speak, but couldn't. Seokjin took his face in his hands, his eyes were red, and his lips were chapped. He repeatedly expresses his gratitude and continued crying and kissed Taehyung's forehead.

His clothes were wet and heavy, but he could feel his body start to awaken. After blowing into his shirt and wiping his eyes, Seokjin started to pick him up and carry him and bring him down onto the base of a coconut tree. Seokjin starts to take his clothes off but he was too weak to stay awake and he drifts off to sleep.

His eyes start to flutter awake and his body feels a little better, compared to how it was before but still sore. A soft wind blew into his face and now he tries to sit up. He finds that he was stripped of his clothes, except for his briefs. They were dry now and judging by the height of the sun, it was mid-day. Seokjin's white long-sleeved shirt was draped around him to keep him warm. He was laid on top of palm tree leaves and he felt like dying of thirst. He sees Seokjin, shirtless in the distance walking around the sand and wonders what he was doing. Where was Jimin? Jungkook and the others? He weakly stands up and holds Seokjin's shirt tightly around him and approaches him. He noticed his clothes laid out on the sand set by heavy rocks to dry under the sun.

"Taehyungah, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Seokjin asks as he sees him get closer but stops because the sand was scorching.

He wanted to speak and he tries, "Thirsty..." he says, his voice hoarse.

"Right!" Seokjin says and leaves what he was doing, Taehyung sees he created a huge S.O.S. sign on the sand made of rocks, sticks, and other debris. Not seeing their friends makes him feel anxious.

"Come," Seokjin gestures as they walk back to where he was laid before.

"You're lucky I found these on a low-bent tree," Seokjin says and picks up one coconut. "Had a hard time opening one for the first time," he says and slams the coconut onto a protruding rock, peels the husk, and slams it again. It cracks open and he carefully tries to not waste the coconut water. "Here," he offers.

Taehyung drank like it was the first time he had drank anything in his life, the coconut water was divine. Gulping down the coconut water, some escaped his lips and dripped down his neck. "Easy," Seokjin says and opens another one.

After drinking his second coconut, Taehyung breathes deeply, now feeling way better. Seokjin took out the swiss knife that was clasped around his belt and starts to carve out the coconut meat from one coconut half and offers it to him and starts to carve another coconut for himself.